Chairman to depart from drinks giant Diageo

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 12 April, 2016

The board at Smirnoff-producer Diageo has announced their chairman will be stepping down after eight years in the post.

Franz Humer, 69, will be stepping down in the autumn it has been revealed.

But his departure has already sparked debate about who will be following in his footsteps.

A Diageo spokesperson said: "Dr Humer has been our esteemed chairman for eight years guiding the company to the leadership position we have today. As a matter of good governance process, the board has clearly started to think about succession and a process is underway. At the appropriate time we will announce our plans for succession."

When the Swiss-Austrian was appointed as a non-executive director in 2005, Diageo was at the peak of a period of global expansion.

Around that time, Diageo bought Chalone Californian winery for £170 million, an acquisition led by then Diageo US chief executive Ivan Menezes.

Innovations from Diageo over the last year

Chalone's sales jumped from 30,000 cases a year to over 200,000 cases, although this has declined in recent years, and the company as a whole has suffered from the financial crisis and a series of problems in Diageo's key North American market.

Last year, the FTSE 100 drinks conglomerate - which produces Guinness and Smirnoff - sold a bulk of their wine assets to Treasury Wine Estates, including UK mass-market brand Blossom Hill.

In October, Diageo put Chalone - by then its only remaining US wine brand - up for sale and sold its Argentinean wine brand to Grupo Peñaflor in November.

Humer is due to officially step down at Diageo's annual meeting in the autumn and will remain until his successor is appointed.

Swiss pharmaceuticals heavyweight Roche also announced over the weekend that they will be looking for a replacement, as Dr Humer is also their acting chair.

Humer will turn 70 on July 1 and is expected to announce his retirement officially at the end July month to coincide with Diageo's 2015/16 full-year results.

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